{"id":"rail-transport-facilitation-fund-act-2001","name":"Rail Transport Facilitation Fund Act 2001","slug":"rail-transport-facilitation-fund-act-2001","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":106485,"registerId":"sa-rail-transport-facilitation-fund-act-2001-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Rail Transport Facilitation Fund Act 2001","content":"South Australia\nRail Transport Facilitation Fund Act 2001\nAn Act to facilitate rail transport by establishing a fund dedicated for the purpose; and for other purposes.\n\nContents\n1\tShort title\n3\tInterpretation\n4\tEstablishment of Fund\n5\tRail facilitation projects\n6\tAppropriation and authorisation\nLegislative history\n\nThe Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:\n1—Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Rail Transport Facilitation Fund Act 2001.\n3—Interpretation\nIn this Act—\nFund means the Rail Transport Facilitation Fund;\nrail facilitation project—see section 5(2).\n4—Establishment of Fund\n\t(1)\tThe Rail Transport Facilitation Fund is established.\n\t(2)\tThe Fund is to consist of—\n\t(a)\tthe money appropriated by Parliament for the purposes of the Fund; and\n\t(b)\tincome derived by the State from the sale or leasing of railway assets, other than income excluded from the operation of this section by determination of the Treasurer after consultation with the Minister; and\n\t(c)\tincome derived by the State from rail facilitation projects; and\n\t(d)\tother money received by the State for payment into the Fund, or that should, according to a determination of the Minister made with the concurrence of the Treasurer, be applied for the purposes of the Fund; and\n\t(e)\tincome derived from the investment of the Fund.\n\t(3)\tThe Minister may invest money from the Fund that is not immediately required for the purposes of the Fund as may be authorised by the Treasurer.\n\t(4)\tThe Minister may, with the Treasurer's approval, borrow money for the purposes of the Fund from the Treasurer or from some other source.\n\t(5)\tThe Minister may, in connection with the operation of subsection (4)—\n\t(a)\tpay interest on any borrowings; or\n\t(b)\trepay any borrowings; or\n\t(c)\tpay for any other costs associated with any borrowings,\nand, for these purposes, apply money from the Fund.\n\t(6)\tThe Treasurer may, after consultation with the Minister, pay into the Fund money held by a Government Department or agency immediately before the commencement of this Act for transport purposes.\n\t(7)\tThis section is (without further appropriation) sufficient authority for the payment of money under subsection (6).\n5—Rail facilitation projects\n\t(1)\tThe Minister may apply money from the Fund towards rail facilitation projects (whether carried out by the Minister or by any other person or body), other than projects for the facilitation of metropolitan passenger rail services.\n\t(2)\tA rail facilitation project is a project for—\n\t(a)\tthe establishment, extension or improvement of a railway or associated equipment or infrastructure; or\n\t(b)\tthe acquisition or development of land for a purpose associated with a railway; or\n\t(c)\tpromoting, supporting or improving rail transport in some other way.\n\t(3)\tMoney may be applied under this section—\n\t(a)\tby way of grant; or\n\t(b)\tby way of loan; or\n\t(c)\tfor the purchase of land, equipment, infrastructure or materials; or\n\t(d)\tfor the performance of any work or the provision of any service; or\n\t(e)\tin any other manner authorised by the Treasurer.\n\t(4)\tThe Minister may enter into an agreement with any other person or body as to the terms on which money will be made available under this section.\n6—Appropriation and authorisation\nThis Act is sufficient authority—\n\t(a)\tfor the payment of money from the Fund, without further appropriation; and\n\t(b)\tfor the carrying out of any rail facilitation project by the Minister.\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nPrincipal Act\nYear\nNo\nTitle\nAssent\nCommencement\n2001\n54\nRail Transport Facilitation Fund Act 2001\n8.11.2001\n20.12.2001 (Gazette 20.12.2001 p5582)\nProvisions amended\nNew entries appear in bold.\nEntries that relate to provisions that have been deleted appear in italics.\nProvision\nHow varied\nCommencement\ns 2\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based solely on the supplied text and legislative history, there is no recorded amendment that alters the Act's substantive scope. The Act explicitly confines Fund expenditure to non‑metropolitan rail facilitation projects (s5(1)). The legislative history notes only the omission of s2 under the Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002, without evidence here of a change to the Act's operational scope."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple funding sources (appropriations; asset sale/leasing receipts; project income; other designated receipts; investment income) which requires tracking and classification (s4(2)).","Ministerial discretion to apply Fund money to projects, with broad permitted forms of assistance (grants, loans, purchases, works, other manners authorised by Treasurer) (s5(3)–(4)).","Treasurer involvement: determinations to exclude income, authorisation of investments, approval for borrowing and authorisation of other manners of applying funds — creates inter‑agency decision points (s4(2)(b), s4(3)–(5), s5(3)(e)).","Borrowing authority and repayment/costs charging to the Fund introduce financial management obligations and potential interest/cost burdens (s4(4)–(5)).","Explicit exclusion of metropolitan passenger rail services narrows scope and requires applicants/administrators to determine eligibility (s5(1)).","Provision that the Act suffices as appropriation for payments from the Fund removes the need for further annual appropriation, concentrating authorisation in the Act and administrative controls (s6).","Ability to enter agreements with other persons or bodies for terms of funding creates contractual complexity and varying compliance obligations (s5(4))."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act creates the Rail Transport Facilitation Fund to pay for non‑metropolitan rail projects. The Fund is financed by Parliamentary appropriations, proceeds from sale or leasing of rail assets, income from projects, other designated receipts, and investment returns; the Minister may invest or (with Treasurer approval) borrow to support the Fund.\n\nThe Minister decides which rail facilitation projects receive money and how (grants, loans, purchases, works), subject in some cases to Treasurer concurrence. It affects state agencies, private proponents and buyers of rail assets and creates administrative and compliance tasks for applicants."},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative text was not accessible. The page returned was a website error page, not the Act itself. No comparison between original intent and current provisions is possible."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — the source URL returned a 404 error","Complexity cannot be meaningfully assessed without the actual Act's content","Score of 1 reflects absence of analysable material, not simplicity of the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"The Rail Transport Facilitation Fund Act 2001 (SA) likely establishes a dedicated statutory fund to support and regulate rail transport projects in South Australia, setting how money is quarantined, spent, and controlled.  \n\nIt matters to rail operators, infrastructure investors, the state government, and communities relying on rail services because it governs funding and decision‑making for rail development and operations."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose of establishing and operating a dedicated fund for rail transport facilitation. The scope has not expanded beyond the core functions of creating the Fund, defining its revenue sources, specifying eligible projects (with the original exclusion for metropolitan passenger rail), and providing spending authority. No mission creep is evident."},"complexity_factors":["Only 6 substantive sections (excluding title and legislative history)","Minimal defined terms — only 2 terms defined in section 3 ('Fund' and 'rail facilitation project')","Simple structural logic: establish Fund → define what goes in → define what comes out → provide spending authority","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic — the only substantive exclusion is the metropolitan passenger rail ban in section 5(1)","No cross-references to other Acts except the generic Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002 in the history notes","Straightforward appropriation mechanism — section 6 provides blanket authority without requiring further parliamentary approval for individual payments"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act creates a dedicated bank account called the **Rail Transport Facilitation Fund** to pay for projects that improve rail transport in South Australia.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **The State Government** — specifically the Minister responsible for transport and the Treasurer, who control the Fund\n- **Rail operators and developers** — they can receive grants, loans, or other financial help from the Fund for eligible projects\n- **Taxpayers** — because Parliament must approve money going into the Fund\n\n**How the Fund works:**\nThe Fund gets money from several sources:\n- Direct funding voted by Parliament\n- Money from selling or leasing old railway assets (like land or equipment)\n- Income from projects the Fund already supports\n- Investment returns\n- Other money the Minister and Treasurer agree should go in\n\n**What the money can be used for:**\nThe Minister can spend Fund money on **rail facilitation projects** — these include:\n- Building new railways or upgrading existing ones\n- Buying land for rail purposes\n- Buying equipment and infrastructure\n- Anything else that promotes or improves rail transport\n\n**Important limits:**\n- **No metropolitan passenger rail** — the Fund cannot be used for city commuter trains\n- Money can be given out as grants, loans, or direct purchases\n- The Minister can borrow money for the Fund (with Treasurer approval)\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis law ensures there's a dedicated, ongoing source of money for regional and freight rail improvements without needing new parliamentary approval every time a project is funded. It streamlines investment in rail infrastructure by creating a flexible financing mechanism."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/rail-transport-facilitation-fund-act-2001","history":"/api/acts/rail-transport-facilitation-fund-act-2001/history","analysis":"/api/acts/rail-transport-facilitation-fund-act-2001/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/rail-transport-facilitation-fund-act-2001/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/rail-transport-facilitation-fund-act-2001/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/rail-transport-facilitation-fund-act-2001/documents"}}